Pernille Ripp

Be the change, being a teacher, Reading, Student-centered

Who Cares About Reading Strategies?

May 1, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I saw him reading that bright green book, I snuck a closer look and recognized the cover. “Guinness Book of World Records” was perched on his lap. After independent reading, I asked him if he had any chapter books to read too. I don’t mind Guinness but I love when students have a little bit of everything to read. He told me no, and when I asked him why not, he said, “Reading is not my thing.”

This student has been taught every day in reading strategies. How to comprehend, how to figure out themes, how to connect and draw meaningful conclusions. He has diligently written post-its showing some thoughts, he has spoken to others about the books. He has discussed goals with his teacher. And yet, he doesn’t love reading, he doesn’t even like it, nor does he feel he needs to.

So then what does it matter if a student can tell me about theme? What does it matter if a student can give me text evidence? If there is no love of reading then what do we need reading strategies for? Sure, students may be equipped to move on in school and figure out the texts given to them. But the child who does not like reading will not reach for books to enlighten them, or books that will challenge them. They will not reach for books to transport them. Books will not be a needed companion. They will be okay with reading not being their thing and continue on that path. And I am not okay with that.

Who cares about reading strategies and teaching them if we are not uncovering at least a like of books? If we are not helping our students discover a book that they want to read, not because I told them to but because they want, whether it be fiction, nonfiction, or audio? Who cares about theme if a child thinks reading is torture? Who cares about connections when the most important one; the child connecting to the book, is missing?

Yes, we should teach students to be better readers but we should also help them uncover a love of books if it is missing. We should be professing our own love of books and urging them to find the right one that may convince them that reading bears value. Every year this should be our biggest focus, not the reading strategies, they come after.

I am a passionate (female) 5th grade teacher in Wisconsin, USA, proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day. First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today” can be pre-bought now from Powerful Learning Press. Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

being me, reflection, Student-centered, students, Uncategorized

How Blogging Has Enhanced My Parent Connection

April 28, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I didn’t think parents of my students would ever read my blog. Why would they? And yet, now that I have been blogging for four years I am often amazed at how often the parents of my students actually read what I write. Not just on our classroom blog, but also on this blog; my personal one. While there are many small benefits to this, it has also brought on a sense of responsibility to them. I blog about my thoughts on their children, it is their children who inspire me, it is their children that urge me to change, reflect, and grow. That heightened responsibility of how I represent our classroom and myself is only one of the things that has urged me to continue blogging and sharing. With each of the blogs, there have been many other benefits.

Benefits of a Classroom Blog:

Parents know what is going on. This is huge! I update regularly with what we are doing, showcasing work through text, photos or video. it gives parents (and the world) a direct view into our classroom.
Parents know where to find information. Having a child in school can mean a lot of different papers coming home. Now I post everything on our blog for easy reference (even for myself) so it is easy to find.
Parents know what is coming up. I have a calendar embedded on the side of our blog, this is always updated with deadlines, event information, and if I am out of the room. All parents need to do is look at our calendar to see what is happening.
Parents can easily ask questions. No longer reliant on a sometimes vague recollection of what actually happened through a tired child, they can see what is happening and then ask about it. Thea, my 5 year old, sometimes has a hazy memory of what she did at school so I love that I know what is happening in her classroom to help me facilitate a conversation.
Parents know us as a community. Because I get to highlight all of the amazing things we do, parents get a feel for what type of classroom we are. They don’t have to trust me, they can draw their own conclusion.
Parents can comment. I love when our parents, or others, comment on our classroom website. It makes us excited to see that people are paying attention to the wonderful things happening.
New parents know what we are about before their children become part of our class. When they google me, my classroom website comes up, what greater peace of mind to a nervous new student(and parents) than seeing some cool things that are happening in the classroom?
Finally, it becomes one more portal for my students to connect with the world. My students use our blog to post surveys, show off their learning, and connect with others.

Benefit of a Professional Blog:

Parents know my values. I try to stay nuanced but this blog is my platform for trying to abolish grades, homework, and punishment in the classroom. Parents can read my thoughts behind it and know that they can always start a conversation about it as well. They don’t have to ask my educational philosophy, it is all right here.
Parents know me personally. I blog very personal stories, such as the premature birth of our daughter or the passing of my grandfather. I put it all out there because it affects the way I teach, parents get to know me in more personal manner than just being a classroom teacher would allow me too.
Parents feel respected (I hope!). I blog extensively on the importance of bringing parents into the decision making process, as well as listening to them as experts. I hope this gives parents the courage (sometimes) needed to broach even difficult subjects with me.
Parents see how I represent their children. I try my hardest to represent my students in the most meaningful and real way as possible. When I mess up, I blog about it. When we fail as a class, I blog about it. When we have incredible moments, I blog about it. Parents don’t have to wonder how I feel about their kids or my job, I write about it extensively.

I didn’t set out to blog to create deeper connections, but it happened. When we let parents, and the world in, we show we are unafraid of showing what is happening in our worlds. We show that the time we spend teaching and the time we spend learning is worthwhile. We show the world that what we think and do matters. We give a voice to our students, but also to ourselves. but most importantly, we let parents know that what they think matters too.

being me

I Didn’t Ask

April 28, 2014December 29, 2014 Pernille Ripp

Ida throwing a fit after she drew a mustache on her face

I didn’t ask to be the mother of a child who screams at the top of his lungs.

I didn’t ask to be the mother of a child who refuses to wear clothes and hits you when you try to dress her.

I didn’t ask to be the mother of a child who makes up every excuse in the book so that she will not have to go to sleep.

I certainly never asked to be the mother of a child who arrived 10 weeks early and has had to fight for her growth.

But they are mine. And I love them. Even for their faults.

I didn’t ask to be the teacher of a child who refuses to read.

I didn’t ask to be the teacher of a child who interrupts – every – 30 – seconds.

Or the child who gets so angry they throw furniture.

Or the child who sleeps in a closet.

I didn’t ask for them to be in our room. But I would have. I would have taken them all gladly.

For they are the children who change. The children who need a chance. The children we wouldn’t ask for but then cannot help but love so much that when they leave our classrooms at the end of the year, it physically hurts our heart. The children we wake up over. The children we fight for.

Not every child is perfect, I see that in my own children, but every child needs a chance.

I didn’t ask for children who needed my heart to be big and my patience to be bigger. But it is what I got, and I am better because of them.

being a teacher, reflection

What Happened to the Spirit of Teaching?

April 28, 2014April 28, 2014 Pernille Ripp

I became a teacher to help students grow. To help them face their challenges and conquer them in meaningful ways. To help them figure out who they were and where they fit into this world. I became a teacher to teach, in the truest sense of the word. Not to trust a computer to do my job.

With the craze of data collection and the push for more and more tests to gather even more data, I cannot help but wonder what happened to the spirit of teaching? Where is our push for better teaching, not just based on data, but rather on the spirit of the child that stands in front of us? Why is it common that a teacher’s intuition or a teacher’s experience with a child takes second place to what a computer or an anonymous test grader thinks? What happened to us being trusted as professionals? Can a computer or a bubble test really tell us more about a child that than what we already know?

I am not dismissing data as a whole but rather the seemingly absurd way we push for more and more as if the computer can unlock the secret to all that a child needs to grow. What happened to the notion of the whole child as a learner, of the child being on a journey to become a person, not just a worker? I know my students will one day have jobs, but right now they have a life to explore. A life to create and a person to grow into. Where are we leaving room for that in our curriculum?

I wonder how we can move into meaningful data collection. Whether that is an oxymoron in itself. Is there room for the child on our data walls? Or has the data itself swallowed the child and they have just become a statistic. A name to be moved up and down a wall, despite what a teacher might say. What happened to teaching?

Be the change, being a teacher

She Wants to Teach

April 24, 2014 Pernille Ripp

“Mom, I have an idea…”

Thea reaches for the marker and starts to write her ABCs on the whiteboard behind her. She is with me in school today for take your daughter to work and has been thinking hard the last few minutes.

“When the kids come back I’m going to teach them their ABCs…” she states, as if this is the most brilliant idea ever.

So I tell her it is time to go and she furiously scribbles a few more letters on the board. We get the kids, they settle in, and Thea marches to the front of the room as if she was born to be there. She waits and then points to a letter. “Umm, what’s this one?” she says. Hands shoot up as the kids grin. “You!” she points to one of my students who gets it right and Thea quickly tells them good. The next five minutes Thea is the teacher.

I stand back, feeling my heart break and swell at the same time. I have joked with others about how Thea wants to be a teacher and today she has once again shown me that it seems to be in her nature. That teaching may just be her calling as well.

I want to shake the dream out of her head. I want to stop her from becoming a teacher, from choosing this profession that can be so life consuming. I want to stop her from picking a job that will mean working the longest days for little pay. That will mean worrying at night about things out of your control. Worrying about test scores and politicians and how they will affect your life. Worrying about whether the parents like you, whether the students are learning, and whether you are truly prepared. Whether you are everything you say you are.

And yet…

My little girl wants to teach. She wants to be a part of a life that changes the lives of others. She wants to be an influencer, someone who molds and shapes. She wants to make a difference by helping others become what they dream to be. She wants to teach and I couldn’t be prouder.

I couldn’t be happier. Even knowing she will face heartbreak. Even though I know she will have days where she wants to pull out her hair, shut the door, and give up – she wants to teach. She wants to be a part of that. She wants to change the world. She wants to make a difference. For now anyway.

She wants to teach. And the world will be better for it. So why should I stand in her way?

being me, end of year

Make Each Day Count

April 23, 2014April 23, 2014 Pernille Ripp

The number of days I have left with my students. That doesn’t subtract the days where I am not teaching because we are doing special events making the number even smaller. It is the total number of days that I have left to make a difference. Left to teach. Left to help.

I used to do the countdown in my head, not because summer beckoned me, but because I felt a growing sense of dread. Did I do enough to teach them? Did I reach every child? Did I actually teach them anything? Was 5th grade worth it to my students?

Now, I do my silent count down as a reminder to make every moment count. As a way to say that yes, summer may come and steal you away, but until then we are still together and we are still on a learning journey. We still have things to explore. We still have things to mess with. Our brain still has mysteries to ponder.

So while I may know how few days we have left together, I will not cling to it for celebration, but rather to push our purpose. To focus even more on the learning. To grow even bigger together. I will never be able to do all of the things I had hoped for but I will keep trying until the very end.

36 more days to go, make each one count.